A shower or other bathing area may have a door to enclose the area and also to contain liquid water and/or steam within the shower area. A shower installation may have various designs and are often include glass walls and/or doors that provide a desired aesthetic, allow the passage of light into the shower area, and are also easy to clean, etc. Some of the glass panels for the walls and the door may be installed without a frame extending around the glass, or in a frameless manner. The glass used may be tempered to strengthen the glass for use in this application. For a frameless glass panel door, the door is fit within the doorway or a door frame to the shower installation, and is supported or hung onto an adjacent structure in doorway using hinges that both support the door and allow it to pivotally open and close. The hinges may connect the door to a door jamb, or alternatively may be connected to a header and a floor member.
For a conventional, frameless, glass panel door, a glass plate is drilled, cut, or otherwise formed with apertures, cutouts, or the like for use in connecting the hinge to the door prior to tempering. After tempering, or annealing, the glass becomes more difficult to work with as any cutting process requires heating the glass and risking the integrity of the panel.
For a glass panel used in a shower application, such as a frameless door, the doors are often provided in limited size and shape options for the user or consumer to select from, and with predetermined or precut shapes for attaching the hinge hardware. Alternatively, the door panel may custom made to fit an unusual doorway area or shape, which requires additional time and cost.